Suction device

ABSTRACT

An embodiment includes a suction device handle for use with a vacuum supply conduit to suction a fluid or tissue, the handle comprising: a hand-grippable body defining a chamber; the hand-grippable body comprising a distal end configured to support a suction tip; the suction tip including a distal end of a vacuum supply conduit extending within an outer cannula, the vacuum supply conduit being offset from a distal end of the outer cannula by a predetermined distance; wherein the distal end of the hand grippable body is connected to a proximal end of the outer cannula and the chamber is connected in fluid communication with the suction pressure or vacuum generated at the distal end of the vacuum supply conduit. Additional embodiments are described herein.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/613,219 filed on Mar. 20, 2012 and entitled “Suction Device”, andthis application claims a benefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 of prior filedNon-Provisional application No. 13/847,347 filed on Mar. 19, 2013 andU.S. Ser. No. 14/572,843, which are fully incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

U.S. Pat. App. Publication No. 2011/0144571 entitled SUCTION DEVICEfiled on Oct. 14, 2010 (“the '571 application”) shares a common inventorwith the present application. The '571 application is herebyincorporated by reference. The '571 application discloses a suctiondevice including an outer tube and an inner suction tube. The innersuction tube is offset a distance from an inlet of the outer suctiontube. The offset distance facilitates its use in surgical (and other)suction activities with reduced risk of clogging.

Healthcare personnel desire further improvements in suction devices,especially for laproscopic procedures, to facilitate effective removalof tissues and fluids from the surgical site.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a suction device, including a handle;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the suction device of FIG. 1 beingattached to nested suction cannulae; and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a body of the suction device of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Implementations of the present disclosure now will be described morefully hereinafter. Indeed, these implementations can be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theimplementations set forth herein; rather, these implementations areprovided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legalrequirements. As used in the specification, and in the appended claims,the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unlessthe context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “comprising” andvariations thereof as used herein is used synonymously with the term“including” and variations thereof and are open, non-limiting terms.

FIG. 1 shows a suction device 10 of the present invention including ahand-grippable body 12, a plurality of buttons 14, and a suction tip.The body defines a chamber or passage 26. A vacuum supply conduit 18connected to a vacuum supply 20 and an irrigation fluid supply conduit22 connected to a fluid supply 24 may pass through the passage 26.Advantageously, the chamber or passage 26 may facilitate generation ofsuction or negative pressure by attachment to a suction tip, when thesuction tip is in contact with fluid, tissue or any surface.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the suction tip may include anouter cannula 50 and an inner cannula 51. The outer cannula 50 may havea proximal end 37 and a distal tip 44. The inner cannula 51, whichconducts a vacuum supply, extends within the outer cannula 50. The innercannula 51 also may have a proximal end 53 and a distal tip 46. But, thedistal tip 46 of the inner cannula 51 is recessed inwardly from thedistal tip 44 of the outer cannula 50. Any and all space defined betweenthe outer cannula 50 and inner cannula 51 that contains a vacuum may bea first suction volume.

Attachment of the suction tip to the body 10, as described in moredetail below, establishes fluid communication between the chamber orpassage 26 and the suction volume. When fluid communication isestablished, the chamber or passage 26 may become an additional orsecond suction volume. Advantageously, a vacuum generated by the innercannula 51 at its distal tip 46 extends through the suction volumedefined between the inner cannula 51 and outer cannula 50 and into thechamber 26 defined in the body 12. Further advantageously, the recessedposition of the inner cannula 51 distal tip 46 helps to break blockagesfrom fluids and tissue being suctioned from the surgical site.Additional details about the structure and operation of the suction tipare described in the '571 application.

The fluid supply 24 may be a bag of saline, for example, under pressuredue to the head generated by its elevation above the suction device 10on a pole. Or, it may be supplied as a standard fluid in an operatingroom or other healthcare setting. This pressure facilitates urging thefluid down the fluid supply line 22 so as to facilitate suction.

The fluid supply conduit 22 may be polymer or rubber medical tubing, forexample, that is configured to direct and control fluid flow to the body12. At the same time, some flexibility of the tubing is advantageous inorder to allow its connection to and passage through the passage definedby the body 12.

The vacuum supply conduit 18 may be of similar construction, although itmay have characteristics better adapted to resisting collapse thanelevated pressures.

The vacuum supply 20 may be generated by a standalone device, such as aportable pump, or may be part of an existing built-in vacuum or suctionpressure supply in the clinical setting. Also, the vacuum supply 20 mayinclude some type of catch basin or other container to capture and holdsuctioned fluids and tissues for later safe disposal.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conduits 18, 22 may extend through thepassage 26 and merge into a single distal conduit end 32. This mergercombines the fluid for irrigation with the vacuum so, if both lines arefree-flowing, the majority of the irrigation fluid is sucked into thevacuum conduit 18. If only the irrigation conduit 18 is flowing, theconduit 18 supplies fluid at the distal conduit end 32 to dilute tissue,blood or and other bodily fluids. This allows tissue and fluid enteringthe distal conduit end 32 to be diluted before being sucked up throughthe vacuum conduit 18, when activated, for disposal.

As shown in FIG. 2, the proximal end 37 of the outer cannula 50 mayinclude a connector. Also, the proximal end 53 of the inner cannula 51may include a connector. For example, each of the cannulae proximal ends37 and 53 may have one-half of an appropriately-sized luer, bayonet orother style lock or connector. The other half of the 20 connector may bepositioned on the distal end of the body 12 and the single distalconduit end 32. Connecting these connectors will attach the cannulae tothe body and conduit, as shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the body 12 of the suction device may have anergonomic shape, such as an eggplant or teardrop shape, with a resultinggreater volume defined in a portion of the passage 26 proximal of themidline (i.e., half way between the proximal and distal ends) of thebody. This shape is configured to facilitate easy gripping andmanipulation in a normal range of hand sizes. The body 12 may beconstructed of a polymer material so as to be light and inexpensive. Itsouter surface may be textured for further ease of gripping andmanipulation. The greater volume of the teardrop shape may facilitatethe generation of suction or negative pressure in the volume between theinner cannula 51 and outer cannula 50 when the outer cannula 44 is incontact with fluid or tissue.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the body 12 may also include a neck regionthat extends out of the bulbous proximal region and then curves gentlydownward over a region where the fingers would wrap. Restated, thefingers of the hand would wrap around and under the inner curvature. Thethumb would be positioned near the buttons 14.

The body 12 includes a proximal end 34 and the distal end 36. At theproximal end may be an air-tight sealing disc 38, as shown in FIG. 1.The sealing disc 38 may be a rubber or polymer plug, for example, thatfriction fits within a cylindrical opening at the proximal end 34.Defined through the sealing disc 38 may be a pair of holes configured toallow snug passage of the conduits 18, 22. Separate construction of thesealing disc 38 facilitates its removal and replacement along withthreading new conduits 18, 22. Also, revealing the opening at theproximal end 34 facilitates cleaning and sterilization of the passage 26of the body 12.

The distal end 36 defines its own cylindrical opening that, as shown inFIG. 2, may be configured to receive the similarly-sized connector onthe proximal end of the outer cannula 50. The opening at the distal end36 may include its own stopper or member to support in a centrallocation, and allow passage therethrough, of the single distal conduitend 32. Central positioning may facilitate attachment of the conduit end32 to the proximal end of the inner cannula 51.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the buttons 14 are on the dorsal outercurvature of the body 12 so as to be positioned for thumb actuation. Thebuttons 14 include shafts or posts that extend through sealed openingsin the body 12 so as to prevent air escape. Each of the buttons 14 isspring biased on its shaft to clamp shut on or open a respective one ofthe conduits 18 or 22.

Depression of the buttons 14 against the spring bias progressively opensthe conduits 18 and 22. Progressive opening results in progressivelyincreasing supply of fluid or suction. Linear, adjacent positioning ofthe buttons 14 on the dorsal surface (as shown in FIG. 3) of the body 12facilitates simultaneous, dual compression to route some irrigation andvacuum at the same time. Isolated suction or irrigation may also beperformed by depressing only one of the buttons 14.

The suction device 10 may also include a single button or more than twobuttons for selective application of various combinations of suction andfluids. A single button may be used to actuate a single suction line.Multiple buttons may be used for different types of fluids throughdifferent conduits.

The buttons 14, for example, may include compression members such aspyramidal members that trap the flexible conduits 18 or 22 against theinner surface of the body 12 under compression of the spring. Also, thebuttons themselves may have an ergonomic shape of a tear drop and benested within shaped recesses 40 on the dorsal, outer curvature of thebody 12.

The chamber or passage 26 is defined within the body 12 by the wallstructure of the body. Advantageously, the passage 26 is configured toallow positioning and passage of the conduits 18 and 22 in aconfiguration that allows their selective compression by the buttons 14.For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conduits 18 and 22 may beconfigured in a crossing or overlapping configuration that facilitatespositioning of the buttons 14 along the mid-dorsal line of the body 12.

The passage 26 has the same general shape as the outer surface of thebody 12 due to the relatively consistent wall thickness of the body.However, the passage 26 could have a less similar shape, such as acurved cylinder. Regardless, the passage 26 can extend from the proximalend 34 to the distal end 36 of the body 12 so as to guide and shield theconduits 18 and 22 from entanglement or exposure to the environment.

A number of aspects of the systems, devices and methods have beendescribed. Nevertheless, it will be understood that variousmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe disclosure. Accordingly, other aspects are within the scope of thefollowing claims.

-   10 suction device-   12 body-   14 buttons-   18 vacuum supply conduit-   20 vacuum supply-   22 fluid supply conduit-   24 fluid supply-   26 passage-   32 single distal conduit end-   34 proximal end-   36 distal end-   37 outer cannula proximal end-   38 sealing disc-   40 shaped recesses-   44 outer cannula distal tip-   46 inner cannula distal tip-   50 outer cannula-   51 inner cannula-   53 inner cannula proximal end

1. A suction device handle to use with a vacuum supply conduit tosuction a fluid or tissue, the handle comprising: a hand-grippable bodydefining a chamber and comprising a distal end configured to support asuction tip; the suction tip including a distal end of the vacuum supplyconduit extending within an outer cannula, the vacuum supply conduitbeing offset from a distal end of the outer cannula by a predetermineddistance and configured to couple to a vacuum supply, wherein the vacuumsupply conduit includes a merging of an irrigation supply conduit andthe vacuum supply conduit; and wherein the distal end of the body isconfigured to couple to a proximal end of the outer cannula and thechamber is configured to couple in fluid communication with suctionpressure generated at the distal end of the vacuum supply conduit by thevacuum supply; wherein the vacuum supply conduit, when coupled to thevacuum supply, forms the suction pressure (a) at a location includingwithin a space directly between an outer wall surface of the vacuumsupply conduit and an inner wall surface of the outer cannula, (b)within a portion of the chamber located proximal to the location, and(c) that sucks fluid away from the outer cannula and into the vacuumsupply conduit; wherein the vacuum supply conduit is configured to passthrough the chamber into the suction tip.
 2. A suction device of claim1, wherein the chamber is further configured to pass a fluid supplyconduit.
 3. A suction device of claim 3, wherein the chamber isconfigured to hold the vacuum supply conduit and fluid supply conduit inan overlapping configuration.
 4. A suction device of claim 1, furthercomprising at least one spring-biased valve mechanism configured tonormally close the vacuum supply conduit.
 5. A suction device of claim5, wherein the chamber is further configured to pass a fluid supplyconduit.
 6. A suction device of claim 6, further comprising a secondspring-biased valve mechanism configured to normally close the fluidsupply conduit.
 7. A suction device of claim 1, wherein a proximal endof the body is configured to form an airtight seal around the vacuumsupply conduit passing therethrough into the chamber.
 8. A suctiondevice of claim 1, wherein a proximal end of the hand grippable body isconfigured to form an airtight seal around the vacuum supply conduit andfluid supply conduit passing therethrough into the chamber.
 9. A suctiondevice of claim 3, wherein a proximal end of the hand grippable body isconfigured to form an airtight seal around the vacuum supply conduit andthe fluid supply conduit passing therethrough into the chamber.
 10. Asuction device of claim 1, wherein the chamber has a proximal half thatis volumetrically larger than a distal half of the chamber.
 11. Asuction device of claim 1, wherein the vacuum supply conduit, whencoupled to the vacuum supply, forms the suction pressure within aproximal half of the chamber located proximal to the location.
 12. Asuction device of claim 1, wherein the vacuum supply conduit forms thesuction pressure at the location when the distal end of the outercannula is covered by the fluid.
 13. The suction device of claim 1,further comprising a vacuum connector configured to releasably couplethe vacuum supply conduit to the suction tip.
 14. A suction device ofclaim 2, further comprising a tip connector configured to releasablycouple the distal end of the body to the suction tip.
 15. A suctiondevice of claim 2, wherein the chamber is further configured to pass afluid supply conduit.
 16. A suction device of claim 2, furthercomprising at least one spring-biased valve mechanism configured tonormally close the vacuum supply conduit.
 17. A suction device of claim17, wherein the chamber is further configured to pass a fluid supplyconduit.
 18. A suction device of claim 18, wherein the suction devicefurther comprises a second spring-biased valve mechanism configured tonormally close the fluid supply conduit.
 19. A suction device of claim2, wherein a proximal end of the body is configured to form an airtightseal around the vacuum supply conduit passing therethrough into thechamber.